Hope you had a wonderful summer and are excited to start the new school year! The PTA Board is planning some fantastic events again this year including Fall Festival, 3rd Annual Dragon Fun Run, Pancake Breakfast, and the most popular night, Spring Basket Raffle and Bingo Night.

Attending these events is a great way to have fun and help the PTA raise funds which then are used toward assemblies, classroom supplies, school support and educations programs for our students, teachers and parents. They also help fund Donuts for Dads and Teacher Work Day treats.

In addition to all of our fun events, we will also be holding various fundraisers throughout the year. The easiest way to support our fundraising efforts is to join the PTA. PTA Memberships are good for one year, so if you joined last year, please join again! Memberships are $10 per person and $15 per family. The PTA Membership drive will last until the end of September.

We will also be holding additional fundraisers like Restaurant Spirit Nights throughout the year. We greatly appreciate your participation!

Last year, we were able to raise money for iPads and various STEM classroom materials with the Dragon Fun Run. This year we are raising funds for STEAM – Arts and Technology.

We will continue to support After School Enrichment classes, Odyssey of the Mind, Girls on the Run, Running with the Stars, and Reflections among other after school programs. More information and how to get involved with these and other programs will be available at Back to School Night and our bi-weekly newsletter.

Be sure to keep up to date with all of Arcola’s PTA happenings by attending our General PTA meetings, viewing the bi-weekly E-Blast emails and Thursday E-folders, visiting the PTA website, Twitter and “Like” us on Facebook.

As always, we can plan fun events and activities, but volunteers are what make them happen! Consider volunteering for an event committee or at an event – even just one hour of your time makes a huge difference!

We hope you have a fantastic year! If you have any questions, comments, ideas, or want to get more involved, contact me at arcolaptapresident@gmail.com.